NEA Director‑General William D. Magwood, IV, visited Japan from 13 to 15 April 2026 to participate in the 59th Annual Conference of the Japan Atomic Industrial Forum (JAIF) and to meet with senior officials and key stakeholders from Japan’s nuclear sector.
In his keynote address to conference participants, Director‑General Magwood focused on the theme Empowering People: Building the New Nuclear Energy Era. He underlined that enabling success in the nuclear sector requires coherent and supportive policies, resilient supply chains, a strong regulatory framework, and sustained investment in skills and talent development. Emphasising that workforce development is a long‑term endeavour, he highlighted the need for strategic vision and early, sustained engagement to build and maintain a highly skilled nuclear workforce.
Director‑General Magwood also stressed the growing importance of strengthened international co‑operation on education and training to attract, train and retain nuclear professionals. In this context, he presented a range of NEA initiatives and ongoing activities designed to support member countries in building future‑ready nuclear expertise.
A dedicated fireside chat with Masui Hideki, President and CEO of JAIF and Director‑General Magwood was an opportunity to examine workforce challenges in Japan and globally. The discussion highlighted Japan’s “structural dilemma” of increasing workload driven by reinforced safety requirements and renewed nuclear activity, alongside a shrinking and ageing workforce, further compounded by declining interest among the younger generations.
Director‑General Magwood noted that workforce shortages are a global challenge, although their nature and scale vary across regions. He emphasised the need for co‑ordinated action across industry, regulators and educational institutions, as well as improved access to high‑quality educational resources. This important discussion will be further explored during the NEA Global Forum Nuclear Education National Workshop in Japan planned in November 2026.
Organised in partnership with the NEA for the first time in the history of JAIF Annual Conferences, the 59th edition attracted more than 840 registrations, a record number of participants representing governments, academia, and nuclear industry worldwide.
During the mission to Japan, the ongoing work and potential further co-operation with the NEA were discussed with nuclear sector stakeholders, including with Commissioner Reiko Kanda and Secretary General Shuichi Kaneko of the Nuclear Regulatory Authority of Japan (NRA), Masanori Koguchi, President of the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA), and Akira Yamaguchi, President of the Nuclear Waste Management Organisation of Japan (NUMO).
